For the first time since crossing the Great St Bernard Pass from Switzerland into Italy, I’m looking at rain. The forecast for Santhià is calling for 74 mm of rain today (down from 94 when I checked my weather app yesterday) with temperatures remaining steady at 12 Celsius. So far it’s been a light steady rain all morning. When I got my morning cappuccino, Enrico told me the heavy rain is supposed to arrive tonight.

Like most businesses in Italy, the public library closes for a few hours at lunch time. Tuesday is the exception, when it remains open all day until 6:00 pm. On my way here from the hostel, I stopped to buy two small pizzas from the panetteria on the main street‎ for lunch, and I packed along an apple and an orange. There’s no need to leave my haven until closing time.

Tomorrow I’ll see the doctor again, and at that point I’ll ask him about the wisdom of my plan to do daytrips to both Milan and Turin later this week. My original plan of following the Via Francigena straight through to Rome would have meant missing both of these cities, so my enforced sojourn in Santhià is not at all unwelcome. (Although I’d ‎still rather be walking.) 

Once a computer terminal in the library opens up, I’ll check the official website for the Shroud of Turin. According to Wikisherpa, it’s not normally on display except by special order of the Pope.‎ I’m hoping to find more up-to-date information on their website.

Other than all that, I don’t have any exciting plans for the next few days. The forecast is for rain until Friday in Santhià, so I’ll be splitting my time between the café, the library, and the hostel. I expect to get a lot of reading done, and also to add to my slowly growing store of Italian words and phrases.

Ah, there’s an open computer! I may not have all that much to say over the next few days other than to report on the doctor’s prognosis. ‎Ciao!